ExpLoring Lithium tantalate on Insulator PhoTonic Integrated Circuits

Introduction

Transparent ferroelectric oxide crystals with a strong 2nd-order optical nonlinearity are a paramount building block for electro-optical and nonlinear photonics, bridging the electromagnetic spectrum from electrostatics and THz fields to optical frequencies.

Current Advancements

Currently, smart-cut ferroelectric thin films are revolutionizing integrated photonics, overcoming the traditional limitations of bulk lithium niobate and silicon-on-insulator photonic integrated circuits, such as low power efficiency and speed.

Challenges

Despite more than half a decade of tremendous scientific progress in the field, predominantly using lithium niobate thin films, many technological and commercial hurdles have emerged, compounding their adoption.

Project Goals

The goal of ELLIPTIC is to overcome these limitations and to close the technology gaps that are still inherent to photonic integrated circuits based on ferroelectric thin films.

Unique Properties of LTOI

LTOI will open a new paradigm for nonlinear integrated photonics, based on its unique properties, such as:

1. High optical damage threshold
2. Reduced photorefractive effect
3. Ultra-low optical and microwave loss
4. Low birefringence

Moreover, LTOI leverages the existing micro-electronic manufacturing infrastructure due to its widespread adoption for 5G cellular signal filters.

Applications

We will demonstrate the transformative potential of the LTOI platform for applications across various domains, including:

• Optical and millimeter-wave communications
• Signal processing
• Metrology
• Frequency-comb generation
• Quantum technologies, such as the transduction of quantum signals between superconducting microwave devices and optical fibers.

Accessibility

The development of a process design kit (PDK) will democratize access to the technology for academia and the R&D communities.